History Lessons
by ladybug114
Summary: After the events in Aslan's How, Edmund gives Caspian a little lesson... about the evil of the witch, the treachery of a boy, and the sacrifice of a certain Lion.


**A/N: So. This is a Prince Caspian story, and is... movie-verse. Which is weird for me. But I really liked the way the scene with Jadis was portrayed in the movie. So, you know... here it is**

Afterward, Caspian went for a walk. He needed to clear his head, to recognize the truth of what he had just seen.

The White Witch.

And he had almost brought her back- him and Peter both. They would have, Caspian knew this, if it wasn't for Edmund.

As if conjured by his thoughts, Caspian spotted Edmund as soon as he left the stuffy How. The young king was sitting in the grass, staring, it seemed at nothing, and Caspian could tell that he was lost in thought as well. After a brief hesitation, the prince decided to join Edmund, and silently sat down next to him.

At Caspian's approach, Edmund looked up and smiled. "Caspian! It's good to see you." He looked up at the clear, star-filled sky. "It's beautiful out, don't you think? Perfect thinking weather."

Caspian nodded, but stayed silent. He felt overwhelmed with guilt, and didn't know what to say. Surely, he thought, the king sitting next to him was much greater than Caspian himself, as Edmund had not seemed even tempted by the Witch.

After a few minutes sitting in silence, Edmund, without looking away from the stars, said suddenly, "How well do you know your Narnian history, Caspian?"

Caspian started, but answered quickly, "Well enough, King Edmund."

Edmund rolled his eyes at the title. "Just Edmund," he corrected.

Caspian grinned. Edmund was definitely in a better mood than his brother, who had not corrected Caspian on the matter of his title.

Edmund, meanwhile, was still looking at the stars. "Well," he said, "What do you know about the time before the Golden Age? Before Peter, Susan, Lucy and I ruled?"

Caspian was still confused at the questions, but answered as best he could, "Aslan created the world with a song, correct?" He glanced at Edmund, who was nodding, and continued, "And then the White Witch, Jadis, plunged Narnia into winter and ruled for many years. And then you and your siblings came, defeated the Witch, ended the winter, and were crowned by Aslan himself." Finished, Caspian looked back at Edmund and saw a faint smile on his face. "Edmund?" he asked, "Is that correct?"

Edmund finally looked Caspian in the eye, the first time since the prince had joined him. "Yes, that's correct," he answered, "but you don't have all the facts. You're missing one very important story."

Caspian looked at Edmund curiously. What was the point of this? He stayed silent though, expecting that he would understand soon enough.

As if noticing the look, Edmund grinned and said, "How would you like a little history lesson, Caspian?"

Caspian grinned back. Edmund had a very contagious smile, on the occasions he used it. It was a smile of pure joy, like Lucy's, but his was also a bit mischievous. "Of course, Ki-" he stopped himself, seeing Edmund's raised eyebrow. "I mean, of course, Edmund," Caspian finished with an easy smile.

"This story," Edmund began, "takes place during the reign of the Witch, and is not often told, but I believe it is very important. Now, while the Witch was ruling and Narnia was covered in snow, a young girl stumbled upon it. And-"

Before Edmund could continue, Caspian cut him off. "Wait," he said, "I thought you and your siblings were the first humans in Narnia?"

Edmund smiled. "I'm getting there. Be patient!"

Caspian smiled, ducked his head, ashamed, and waited in silence for Edmund to continue.

He did, saying, "This young girl loved the land she found, even in the winter, and she tried to bring..." Here Edmund hesitated, but Caspian didn't notice, as he continued rather quickly, "her friends into this strange world. But when she brought them to the door she had used, it was shut. And her friends ridiculed her, calling her a liar and claiming that she was only looking for attention."

Frowning, Caspian interrupted again, "That's awful! If they were true friends, they would have believed her, right?"

Edmund shrugged, and responded, "Think about it. If someone younger than you told you they had found a door to another world, and then that door didn't work, you would be skeptical too, right?" Edmund looked at Caspian closely, as if awaiting an official judgment.

Feeling the pressure, the young prince answered hesitantly, "Yes... I suppose I would be." He frowned again. "But I still feel bad for the girl. Did her friends ever find the land?"

Edmund nodded, and continued his story, "A few days later, one of her friends, a young boy, discovered the doorway. Opening it, he found himself in the same land his sis... friend had described." Once again, Caspian was unaware of Edmund's vocal slip. "The boy entered Narnia, and while he was there, he met a woman." As Edmund spoke, his face grew darker, as if he was caught in memories he didn't want to have. "This woman was beautiful, but she was terrible. She rode in a sleigh and dressed all in white, and she fed the boy and talked to him."

Caspian was, at this point, completely lost in the story. Since he had left home, he had missed history lessons from Cornelius, and Edmund was a great storyteller. "The White Witch," Caspian whispered.

Edmund nodded solemnly. "Yes. Rather than a kind faun or talking animal," he continued, "this boy met the Witch herself. And she told him that, if he brought his... his friends with him, she would make him King of Narnia. And he agreed."

Caspian was shocked. "This boy would betray his friends to become a King?" he exclaimed, outraged. Betrayal, in Caspian's mind, was one of the worst offenses a man could make. He didn't care that this "man" was merely a boy, the rules still applied.

Edmund meanwhile, looked... ashamed? Caspian couldn't understand why the young king would have they expression, but it was only on Edmund's face for a second, and then he resumed his story. "Yes," he sighed, "this boy would. So he returned to his home, and planned to bring his friends- two girls and another boy- to the Witch."

Edmund paused, and Caspian frowned. The king seemed almost... upset about the story he was telling. As if it was somehow personal, somehow more difficult to tell. These thoughts, however, were quickly driven out of Caspian's mind as Edmund continued.

"So that's what the boy did," he said. "The four friends got into Narnia together, and he did his best to convince his friends to explore the castle he found- which was, of course," Edmund continued, looking at Caspian, "the castle of the White Witch herself."

Caspian, very into the story, couldn't help it when he burst out, "That traitor! Leading his friends to certain death?! If he was in my kingdom, he would pay for something like that."

Edmund raised an eyebrow and asked, "Even though he was only a boy? He was only 10 when this happened."

Caspian frowned again. How would he react? "Well," he decided finally, "he would definitely have been punished severely. He would most likely not pay the price of death though." After responding, he looked at Edmund, as if seeking approval.

He received none, as the king merely nodded, as if the answer was expected but not appreciated. "You will be happy to know, then," Edmund continued, "that the boy was punished. He was unable to convince his friends to journey to the Witch, so he simply snuck off to visit her himself." Edmund paused again, putting his head down, seeming to struggle with the story again. "The Witch," he said finally, looking back at Caspian, "was not pleased that he came alone, and she made sure that the boy knew that."

Caspian felt sick. Yes, he deserved to be punished. But no one- not even a ten-year-old traitor- deserved to be left in the hands of Jadis. Caspian was still unsure as to why Edmund was telling him this story, but if it was meant to make him feel better, it was not successful. It was simply bringing to Caspian's mind all the stories of the Witch's cruelty, all the terror he almost returned to Narnia.

While the prince was distracted by dark thoughts, Edmund was continuing his story. "Jadis," he said, "had of course planned all along to kill the boy and his sib... friends. Since the boy was already in her possession, she began preparing to kill him." Edmund took a deep breath, before continuing rather shakily, "With the help of an evil dwarf, she tied the boy to a tree and prepared her stone knife to slit his throat." He paused, and then continued quietly, "But she never got the chance."

Caspian stared at Edmund, eyes wide. "How?" he asked, incredulous. Caspian knew that the Witch would not decide to spare someone out of mercy- there had to be a reason she would not kill this boy.

Edmund answered, a faint smile on his face, "Because his friends had been off having adventures of their own. They met the good Narnians and together they rescued the boy from the Witch and brought him to their king, who-"

"King?" Caspian interrupted. "Was Peter king then?"

Edmund laughed, although Caspian couldn't understand why. "No," he said, grinning, "Peter was not the king. The king then had a decision to make- how to punish the boy for his treachery." The smile had left Edmund's face as quickly as it came, and he turned to Caspian and asked, "What would you have done?"

"Well," Caspian answered after a moment's thought, "he would need to be punished. Not with death, of course, but perhaps with imprisonment. I would say exile, but his betrayal ultimately only harmed him." He looked at Edmund, and saw that the king was looking up at the stars again. "How did this king punish the boy?" Caspian asked, curious.

"He didn't," Edmund quietly answered, still staring up at the sky.

Caspian was quiet for a few minutes, thinking about Edmund's answer, but finally he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself. "King Edmund? he asked, hesitantly. "Why did you tell me this? Who was the boy traitor? What was his name?"

Edmund didn't correct Caspian on the use of his title, but looked at the prince and said quietly, "His name is Edmund."

For a moment, Caspian couldn't breathe. Finally, he choked out, "You?" He stood and turned away for a moment, trying to understand what he had just heard. He turned back to Edmund, who was still sitting quietly on the ground, and asked, "You were the boy in that story?"

Edmund nodded, and suddenly Caspian understood. He understood why Edmund was so angry with Peter, why he had looked so terrified even as he stabbed the ice, why he paused at certain points in the story. Even though he was no longer the young boy who betrayed his family, far from it in fact, Edmund remained haunted by his encounter.

An encounter he had just shared with Caspian.

Still reeling from what Edmund had just told him, Caspian sat heavily back into the ground. "Thank you," he whispered, looking at Edmund.

The young king raised an eyebrow, but did not respond. Soon both prince and king were looking up at the stars again- both with a new friend by their side.

**A/N: yeah, I'm not very happy with the ending... but there you have it! Please review, it makes me very happy :)**


End file.
